My dear friend from the Prabhupada Connection, Padmpani Prabhu, sent me the following post in my mail box the other day and gave me his permission to post it. So with great pleasure we are posting it here.. Please, if you havn’t already, check out his famous site The Prabhupada Connection

Whatever Happened to the Revolution?

For many of us who came of age in the Sixties and Seventies, the counterculture and its promise of an alternative society based on love and peace was an important part of our lives. Art, music, poetry, philosophy, ecology and human rights were just a few of the buzzwords floating through the collective psyche of the Sixties generation. Revolution was in the air. “The establishment” was doomed and soon to be replaced with a kinder, gentler society. Peace would reign supreme and all peoples of the world would unite and be free from the chains of oppression. Or so we thought.

At the time, it appeared that massive cultural changes were about to sweep away the capitalist system (or the “military industrial complex,” as we used to call it). Every day there was a new victory for change. Underground newspapers proliferated, broadcasting the latest progress reports: the sit-ins, the love-ins, the be-ins, the antiwar and civil rights demonstrations, the Democratic National Convention of 1968, the Chicago Seven Trial, Woodstock, etc. Something was happening here, and it was big.

The following PDF file entitled “Prabhupada” is a very nice little pamphlet describing Srila Prabhupada’s Journey to the West, the society he formed, his teachings, ect. It is very nice and you can click on the following link to view it or save it to your comuputer.

Some years ago I happened across this interesting internet page called “Hare Krishna FAQ”. The page was located at; http://www.harekrsna.de/artikel/faq.htm I quickly read through it and copied it to my files to re-read at a later time. I read it again this evening and found it very interesting and at times amusing. We share it with our readers here at The Hare Krishna Movement.

Hare krishna FAQ

• About “Hare Krishna”
• About Srila Prabhupada
• About ISKCON
• About Gaudiya-math
• About regulative principles
• About the Vedas
• About India
• About devotional service (bhakti)
• About initiation (diksa)
• About the disciplic succession (parampara)

What is the meaning of Hare Krishna?

It is the short form of the maha-mantra, the great spiritual sound of final liberation:

“By vibrating this transcendental sound, the meaning of everything, both material and spiritual, is revealed. This Hare Krishna is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead.” (from Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada Commentary, Srimad Bhagavatam 4.24.40)

The Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vṛndāvana, October 19, 1972

Pradyumna: (reading) “…happiness immediately terminates with his body as long as his life, as soon as his life is over. Death is therefore taken as the representative of God for the atheistic class of men. The devotee realizes the presence of God by devotional service, whereas the atheist realizes the presence of God in the shape of death.”

Prabhupāda: Yes. This point we have discussed last night that everyone can see God. To see God is not very difficult job. There are so many points described in the Bhagavad-gītā. For the devotees, those who are serious about seeing God, they can see God. God is present everywhere. And God Himself, Kṛṣṇa, is describing, raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ [Bg. 7.8]. So everyone drinks water. Now Kṛṣṇa says, “The taste of the water, I am.” So who has not tasted the water? Everyone drinks water at least four times, five times. So as soon as you drink water, the taste of the water is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, “I am this.” Kṛṣṇa has described Himself in so many ways. “Amongst the trees, I am this. Amongst the aquatics, I am this. Amongst the nonmovable, I am this.” So why not see God in that way? The atheist class of men, they say, “Can you show me God?” So why don’t you see God? Why you close your eyes? If you have got eyes to see, you can see God everywhere.

If one always chants the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, gradually one is freed from all reactions of sinful life, provided he chants offenselessly and does not commit more sinful activities on the strength of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. In this way one is purified, and his devotional service causes the arousal of his dormant love of God. If one simply chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and does not commit sinful activities and offenses, one’s life is purified, and thus one comes to the fifth stage of perfection, or engagement in the loving service of the Lord (premā pum-artho mahān).

Srila Prabhupada: So this is the original nature of Krsna, original nature of Krsna. He is Radha-Madhava. He is the lover of Srimati Radharani. And kunja-vihari, always enjoying the company of the gopis within the bushes of Vrdavana forest. Radha-madhava kunja-vihari. So He’s not only lover of Radharani, but braja-jana-vallabha. The whole residents of Vrndavana, they love Krsna. They do not know anything else. They do not know whether Krsna is God, or not; neither they are very much harassed, that “I shall love Krsna if He is God.” “He may be God or He may be whatever He is. It doesn’t matter, but we love God, Krsna.” That’s all. That is called unnalloyed love. “If Krsna is God, then I shall love Him” — this is conditional love. This is not pure love. Krsna may be God or whatever He may be, but by His wonderful acts, the Vrajavasi, they are thinking, “Oh Krsna, He is very wonderful child, maybe some demigod. Maybe some demigod.” Because people are generally under impression that the demigods are all-powerful.

A talk given in September 1968 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, at the Hare Krsna temple in Seattle.

Excerpted from Back to Godhead Magazine Vol. 16, No. 10

Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami. Our program is to worship Govinda, the original person, with love and devotion. This is Krsna consciousness. We are teaching people to love Krsna. That’s all. Our program is to direct your love toward the proper place. Everyone wants to love, but they’re being frustrated because their love is being misplaced. People do not understand where to place their love. First of all you love your body. Then, a little extended, you love your father and mother. Then you love your community, then your country, then the whole human society. And at last you love all living entities. But all this extended love will not give you satisfaction—until you reach the point of loving Krsna. Then you’ll be satisfied.

For example, when you throw a stone into a lake, a circle begins expanding. The circle keeps expanding, expanding, expanding … And when the circle touches the shore, it stops. Until the circle reaches the shore of the lake, it must go on increasing. So we have to go on increasing and increasing our love until we love Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sometime back one of our readers submitted this Index on the Srimad-Bhagavatam, and asked if I could post it. It is truly a very impressive piece of work, and represents a great deal of time and study. We applaud the effort that Jan has put into this Index, and with great pleasure we post it here, in the hopes that others can benefit.

This was written to help me find, understand and remember the massive truth found in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Every abbrieviated, shortened, misused, form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s name, fame, and pastimes is just in attempt to cram the Srimad-Bhagavatam into this being that I am. I hope that this will be of great help to others who are studying the Srimad-Bhagavatam. I offer this handful of rice to the Lord.
– Jan Alexander

This file is so large we will have to post it in parts. This Second part is letter F – K

Sometime back I saw this article on the Prabhupada News website that I saved to my files because it is a good assortment of quotes.

You Can Directly Associate With Srila Prabhupada by Reading His Books

compiled by Mahesh Raja

…. it is described here that ONE HAS TO ASSOCIATE WITH LIBERATED PERSONS NOT DIRECTLY, PHYSICALLY, BUT BY UNDERSTANDING, THROUGH PHILOSOPHY AND LOGIC, THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE. (Srimad-Bhagavatam – 3.31.48 Purport)

Prabhupada: JUST FOLLOW HIS ORDER. SPIRITUAL MASTER IS ALONG WITH YOU BY HIS WORDS. Just like my spiritual master is not physically present, but I am associating with him by his words. (Lecture – London, August 18, 1971)

This morning I happened to read about Maharaja Ambarisa, a great devotee of the Lord, who was famous as one who offered everything to the Lord.

Mahārāja Ambarīṣa always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord’s temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Kṛṣṇa or about Kṛṣṇa. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s temples and Kṛṣṇa’s places like Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord’s devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasī offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord’s prasāda. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written five beautiful prayers in “Sri Navadvipa Bhava Taranga” for receiving the mercy of Lord Narasimha. These prayers are certainly assurance to all sincere devotees that the worship of Lord Narasimha is purely in the line of aspiring love and devotion to Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. Those prayers are as follows:

Within my sinful heart the six enemies headed by lust perpetually reside, as well as duplicity, the desire for fame, plus sheer cunning. At the lotus feet of Lord Narasimha, I hope that He will mercifully purify my heart and give me the desire to serve Lord Krsna.

Weeping, I will beg at the lotus-feet of Lord Narasimha for the benediction of worshipping Radha and Krsna in Navadvipa, perfectly safe and free from all difficulties. When will this Lord Hari, Whose terrible form strikes fear into fear itself, ever become pleased and show me His mercy?

In honor of the appearance day of Lord Nrsimhadeva, we are posting the eight chapter of the Seventh Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva Slays the King of the Demons”.click on image to enlarge

As described in this chapter, Hiraṇyakaśipu was ready to kill his own son Prahlāda Mahārāja, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared in front of the demon as Śrī Nṛkeśarī, half lion and half man, and killed him.

Following the instructions of Prahlāda Mahārāja, all the sons of the demons became attached to Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When this attachment became pronounced, their teachers, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, were very much afraid that the boys would become more and more devoted to the Lord. In a helpless condition, they approached Hiraṇyakaśipu and described in detail the effect of Prahlāda’s preaching. After hearing of this, Hiraṇyakaśipu decided to kill his son Prahlāda. Hiraṇyakaśipu was so angry that Prahlāda Mahārāja fell down at his feet and said many things just to pacify him, but he was unsuccessful in satisfying his demoniac father. Hiraṇyakaśipu, as a typical demon, began to advertise himself as being greater than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Prahlāda Mahārāja challenged him, saying that Hiraṇyakaśipu was not God, and began to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, declaring that the Lord is all-pervading, that everything is under Him, and that no one is equal to or greater than Him. Thus he requested his father to be submissive to the omnipotent Supreme Lord.

The more Prahlāda Mahārāja glorified the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the more angry and agitated the demon became. Hiraṇyakaśipu asked his Vaiṣṇava son whether his God existed within the columns of the palace, and Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately accepted that since the Lord is present everywhere, He was also present within the columns. When Hiraṇyakaśipu heard this philosophy from his young son, he derided the boy’s statement as just the talk of a child and forcefully struck the pillar with his fist.

As soon as Hiraṇyakaśipu struck the column, there issued forth a tumultuous sound. At first Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the demons, could not see anything but the pillar, but to substantiate Prahlāda’s statements, the Lord came out of the pillar in His wonderful incarnation as Narasiṁha, half lion and half man. Hiraṇyakaśipu could immediately understand that the extraordinarily wonderful form of the Lord was surely meant for his death, and thus he prepared to fight with the form of half lion and half man. The Lord performed His pastimes by fighting with the demon for some time, and in the evening, on the border between day and night, the Lord captured the demon, threw him on His lap, and killed him by piercing his abdomen with His nails. The Lord not only killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the demons, but also killed many of his followers. When there was no one else to fight, the Lord, roaring with anger, sat down on Hiraṇyakaśipu’s throne.

The entire universe was thus relieved of the rule of Hiraṇyakaśipu, and everyone was jubilant in transcendental bliss. Then all the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, approached the Lord. These included the great saintly persons, the Pitās, the Siddhas, the Vidyādharas, the Nāgas, the Manus, the prajāpatis, the Gandharvas, the Cāraṇas, the Yakṣas, the Kimpuruṣas, the Vaitālikas, the Kinnaras and also many other varieties of beings in human form. All of them stood not far from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and began offering their prayers unto the Lord, whose spiritual effulgence was brilliant as He sat on the throne.

Today we honnor the disappearance day of one of my dear Godbrothers; Jayananda Thakur. He was well loved by the whole society, and an inspiration to many.

Jayananda Thakura’s Disappearance
from Tamal Krishna Goswamis Diary

3rd May 1977: Today we received word that Jayananda Prabhu had given up his body. When Srila Prabhupada was informed he said, ‘”Yes, sooner or later we must all go.” Afterwards, tears came to His Divine Grace’s eyes. “He was one of my very best dis­ciples. He was the first to give me five thou­sand dollars, which was used for printing Teach­ings of Lord Caitanya. He used to drive me in the car, and while driving he would be chanting.

I asked Prabhupada about Jayananda’s des­tination, “He is not lost. He will be promoted. If he still has some desire for sense gratification, then he will be promoted to the higher planets where he will live for ten thousand years with full enjoyment. By then, he may have perfected his devotional service and he will be transferred back to Godhead. Or, if he has not yet perfected his devotional service, he will be reborn in a very high, aristocratic, pious family But if he was thinking of Krishna, then he can have gone directly to Krishna-loka.”